


Break

by SimplyAWriter_D



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Cheating, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 08:17:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3112640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyAWriter_D/pseuds/SimplyAWriter_D
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was there, in the back of his throat the whole day, but he just couldn’t get the words out.</p><p>Where were you last night?</p><p> </p><p>Aomine cheated on Kuroko and hurt him and wants nothing more than to make it right again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Confession

It was there, in the back of his throat the whole day, but he just couldn’t get the words out.

_Where were you last night?_

Kuroko repeated that question over and over again in his head but for the life of him he just couldn’t say it.

 _Because I don’t want to know the answer_ he thought to himself as he and Aomine ate dinner. It was a day off for the both of them and they had spent it together at home, lazing around and watching movies. But Aomine was tense and awkward the wholle time, which just made Kuroko even more anxious

Aomine got home late last night, which wasn’t weird considering his boyfriend was a police officer. But he hadn’t answered his phone when Kuroko had called him, and he had acted strangely when he _had_ finally come back, looking disheveled and reeking of alcohol.

“Tetsu” Aomine called; his voice somber. They were washing the dishing with Aomine doing the washing and Kuroko drying. Kuroko paused in drying the dish in his hand and looked at his lover. Aomine was tense, his hands on the sink. “I…about yesterday”

Kuroko felt dread building up in his stomach, it was the same feeling he had the first time he had felt Aomine was changing in middle school—but ten times worse.

Aomine remained silent and it only served to increase the feeling, like a weight in his stomach.

“Where were you?” He blurted out. There. He had said it, but it did little to help, in fact it only made the weight grow larger.

“I…I went out to have a drink with the guys. We got a little bit drunk” Aomine said and Kuroko prayed for that to be all, that Aomine would grin at him and apologize for not answering his phone and worrying him. And Kuroko would feel like an idiot and so relieved that he’d smile and kiss Aomine and say it was alright.

But Aomine took a deep breath and turned to Kuroko, and the guilt and pain in his eyes told him that was not the case

“I ran into an old friend of mine and we…she….” He paused, looking at Kuroko, his eyes pleading for him to understand “It didn’t mean anything Tetsu…I-I swear”

And the weight burst, spreading throughout his whole body and gathering in his chest, putting so much pressure on his heart it felt as if it was about to crumble. He stood there shocked for a moment before snapping himself back to the present

He moved to return the plate he had honestly forgotten he was holding, and he nearly made it-if his arms hadn’t been trembling- but ended up smashing the plate into the counter, hissing as the glass dug into his palm.

“Tetsu!” Aomine exclaimed but Kuroko had already knelt down to gather the broken pieces. Aomine knelt across from him and Kuroko could feel the weight of his gaze on him.

“Tetsu, your hand is bleeding. Stop” he reached to grab Kuroko’s arm but the latter flinched and pulled them away hastily. He took a deep breath, schooling his features into his familiar blank expression before looking up. Aomine was frowning, his eyes worried.

Kuroko stood up and went to the bathroom, and started washing his hand to get the blood away. His mind was firing off thousands of thoughts and he couldn’t get it to quiet down. All he knew was that Aomine cheated

Aomine cheated

_Aomine cheated_

Just as he was wrapping his injured hand with gauze from the first aid kit, aomine appeared. Looking miserable and guilty and standing awkwardly at the door the way he always did when he had done something wrong

“who was she?” Kuroko hated how his voice was a bit hoarse but it was all he could to to keep it together.

“Ayame Rin. She used to go to college with me… I-I don’t know how it happened”

“I’m sure you have an idea” Kuroko said icily, turning to Aomine “One does not just _happen_ to have intercourse with someone who is not one’s partner”

“I was drunk and I just…I don’t know what I was thinking” Aomine started and the anxiety actually made Kuroko feel like he was going to vomit. The nausea hitting him like a tidal wave “One minute we were talking and the next we—“

“Stop” kuroko choked out. He didn’t want the details because then he’d imagine it. Imagine Aomine walking with a girl towards a hotel. Imagine him kissing her, holding her, _touching_ her and he couldn’t. He couldn’t because he wouldn’t be able to handle it. He _couldn’t_ handle it and it felt like he was being repeatedly slashed with a knife all across his body

He turned to Aomine and it was all he could do to keep himself together“Why?” he asked, feeling idiotic and fragile and cursing himself for it.

“Tetsu-“

“No tell me this, Aomine-kun. You _owe_ me this” The uncharacteristic plea shocked even himself. “Why?”

Aomine’s adam ’s apple bobbed as he tried to swallow, his expression tortured “I-I don’t know…Tetsu I’m sorry”

It felt like the walls were closing in, like any second now the floor would cave in and he’d fall into the abyss swirling within but none of that happened. Instead he found himself walking out of the bathroom, to the living room. He needed to leave, he had to leave because he felt like he was going to suffocate.

“Tetsu…please.” Aomine chased after him, grabbing his wrist to stop him “Please don’t do this”

But Kuroko jerked his arm back because all he could think was that _those hands were on someone else, those lips on someone else’s_ and _oh god it hurt! It hurt like he’d never thought anything could hurt before!_

He had to leave, he was going to break down if he didn’t. He turned around again to leave when Aomine croaked “How do I fix this?” He sounded so lost, so pained and Kuroko never thought he’d ever want to walk away from Aomine when he sounded like that. “Tell me…I-I’ll do anything” Kuroko held the door open, his back turned to him

“You’ve done enough, Aomine-kun” He left, closing the door behind him. And then he ran, he ran and kept on running until his chest hurt and his legs were shaking and he couldn’t _breathe._ And he wondered how much of that was because of the running.

He went to the first place he thought of and that was Kagami’s apartment. But he didn’t go up; he just sat at the bottom of the stairs with his head in his hands, breathing heavily.

He felt numb. He felt tired. But most of all he felt…everything. Anger, frustration, pain, sadness, agony, longing, hurt. All of those feelings were raging a war inside of him and he just wanted it to stop. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare so Aomine can comfort him, tell him he’s there, thay he’ll never leave him. Tell him that the nightmare was over.

But it wasn’t

It was just getting started

 

 


	2. Consequences

The door closed behind him with a slam and Aomine was left staring at the closed door in shock. It still hadn’t registered in his mind that Tetsu had left, that Tetsu had left _him_. And slowly as it dawned on him he staggered back, his back hitting the wall.

_Tetsu was gone_

His boyfriend’s face when he told him, the moment of utter devastation in Tetsu’s eyes, before he turned to hide, haunted him. But what scared him even more was when he’d looked up from the broken pieces of glass on the floor, his eyes were completely blank and Aomine was floored. He hadn’t seen that emotionless mask in so long, not since highschool. He had long since broken down Tetsu’s walls. It took a while but Tetsu had learned to trust him enough to see that side of him. To see emotion behind those big blue eyes

And Aomine had crushed that trust.

“Fuck!” Aomine yelled, punching the wall behind him. What had he done? What the hell had he done? He was the worst, the absolute worst.

He didn’t know how it happened, he really didn’t. All he knew was that he woke up in bed with Ayame, both of them naked. And he’d been so confused for a moment before the horrible realization of what he had done had washed over him.

But that was no excuse.

He had sworn, he had fucking _sworn_ to never hurt Tetsu again. After what he did in middle school, after finally getting his best friend at the time back, he’d sworn to never to do something that would threaten that relationship.

And he did

He hurt Tetsu

He hurt his boyfriend, his best friend.

He destroyed what they had.

“FUCK!” he screamed, swiping at the nearest thing, a vase Kise had given them when they had moved into their new apartment. But Aomine didn’t care, not when Tetsu’s face flashed over and over again in his head, not when he felt like he was getting crushed by the weight of what he had lost. He punched the wall again and again before he finally laid his head against the battered wall. He took a deep breath, telling himself over and over that freaking out won’t help with anything.

Tetsu would come back and they’d talk this out. Aomine would grovel and plead; he’d do _anything_ for Tetsu to forgive him.

So he cleaned up the glass from the broken vase and went into the kitchen, pausing to stare at the broken plate, with small stains of blood on it, before cleaning that up as well. There was nothing he could do about the walls he’d punched; he’d fix them another day. Instead he busied himself with making Tetsu’s favorite, a vanilla shake

And he waited and waited and the more time passed, the more he started worrying. He started pacing, calling Tetsu’s phone over and over. On his sixth try he left a voicemail

“Tetsu answer me, alright. I’m getting worried. You don’t have to even talk to me just send me a text, just…tell me you’re alright.”

And when time passed and Tetsu still hadn’t answered him he resorted to texting, his mind going over all the horrible possibilities of what might have happened. He was frantic with worry and he just needed to know that Tetsu was okay.

_Tetsu_

_Tetsu please answer me_

_I need to know you’re okay_

_Tetsu_

_For fuck’s sake Tetsu please_

_I…Tetsu I’m sorry_

_Please_

_Please be okay_

Aomine shut his phone angrily and tried to think of where Tetsu could have gone. The first choice was obvious so he dialed Kagami’s number and waited as it rang. It took about ten seconds for Kagami to answer, it felt like hours.

“Oi, Aomine! Why are you calling so—“

“Is Tetsu there?” Aomine immediately blurted, he heard shifting of sheets and guessed Kagami had sat up from his bed. It _was_ pretty late

“Kuroko? Why would he be here?”

Aomine cursed, his worry escalating “Where else would he go this late at night?”

“Aomine, what happened?” Kagami asked firmly, though there was worry evident in his tone.

“I-I screwed up” Aomine said “I screwed up and now Kuroko is gone and he’s not answering his phone”

“I’ll go look for him” Kagami said and Aomine heard him getting up “You stay home just in case he comes back. I’ll go out and look for him. Call the other miracles see if he’s there. I’ll call anyone else I can think of”

Aomine blurted out a fast ‘okay’ before hanging up and calling Kise who actually answered on the second ring.

“Aominecchi" Kise whined into the phone in a groggy voice "why are you waking me up so late? If I go to work with bags under my eyes my manager will—“

“is Tetsu there?”

“Kurokochhi?” Kise’s voice sobered as he asked “No, Why? What’s wrong?”

“Shit” Aomine said hanging up and getting ready to call Midorima but his phone rang before that. Kagami’s number flashed on the screen and Aomine answered it immediately “Did you find him?”

“Yeah, I got dressed and just as I was leaving to go look for him there he was on the stairs of my apartment” Kagami said and Aomine could hear the anger in Kagami’s voice “He’s freezing and he looks like hell. What the fuck did you do Aomine?”

Aomine had never hated himself more as he imagined Tetsu, distressed and sitting on Kagami’s stairs in the freezing cold. “I…I made a mistake. Look, take care of him okay? I doubt he wants to see me tonight so I’ll call in the morning to check up on him.”

He could tell Kagami wanted to question him further but the other sighed “Okay”

“Turn the heat up, even if you feel it’s too hot. He gets ridiculously cold when he’s sleeping. And…uh make sure there’s coffee when he wakes up or he’ll be grumpy till he gets his fix. I…what else..um” Aomine stammered thinking of anything Tetsu might need.

“Aomine…I know” Kagami said and _of course_ he knew. Kagami was Kuroko’s best friend and Aomine knew that but they hadn’t spent a night apart in so long and he was just so worried and conflicted. He wanted to give Tetsu space, he _deserved_ some space. But he also wanted to go and get him and just hold him and tell him how much he meant to him.

“Yeah…I forgot” he mumbled “I’ll…uh…I’ll call you in the morning.” He hung up the phone and suddenly he was exhausted. He shuffled to the couch and threw himself on it. The phone clenched tightly in his hand. It vibrated and Aomine jumped, hopeful and nervous, but sagged back against the couch when he saw it was just Kise texting him.

_Aominecchi, what’s wrong? Where’s Kurokocchi?_

_Aominecchi I’m getting worried_

_Did something happen to kurokocchi?_

_Aomine_

Aomine could tell Kise was getting worried if he stopped with the _–icchi_ but he felt drained so he just sent him a text, telling him that Tetsu was fine and that he was at Kagami’s and he should go back to bed. Kise responded with more questions but Aomine only answered with _go to bed, kise._ Because he wasn’t ready to talk about this to anyone, he wanted to only talk to Tetsu. And he knew they would know eventually but Tetsu was the only thing that mattered and Aomine held the phone tightly in his hand just in case Kagami called, in case Tetsu needed something.

He wanted this all to be over. He wanted to go back in time and punch himself in the face and tell himself to go straight home after work. Because then he’d still have Tetsu. Tetsu trusting him and talking to him openly, more words than most people have ever heard from him. Tetsu with his lips twitching into a small, barely there smile that Aomine always tries his hardest to bring out because goddammit it makes him even more beautiful.

He’d still have Tetsu in his arms, on their bed. Falling into blissful sleep instead of him lying on the couch, filled with regrets with tears in his eyes and emptiness in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea if this is good or not  
> sorry for any grammatical mistakes  
> Oh well


	3. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any mistakes, this was not edited.

In the books Kuroko read there was always a moment when the protagonist would wake up and for a moment forget what was happening before realizing the events of the previous day.

That didn’t happen for Kuroko.

He was fully aware of all the events of the previous day as soon as he became conscious. And he lied there on the bed he knew to be Kagami’s for a while, just staring at the ceiling and contemplating getting up when all he wanted to do was curl up and fall back to sleep and ignore the whole thing.

At least he felt more composed now. Not like he would burst into tears at the nearest opportunity. It was sort of a surreal feeling, like the whole thing wasn’t real. But the ball of anxiety in the middle of his chest, and the fact that he was in Kagami’s apartment, told him otherwise.

“You’re awake” Kagami said and Kuroko looked to the side to see Kagami walking towards him with a cup of coffee in his hand. He reluctantly sat up, the blanket that had been over him falling to his waist. He took the cup of coffee and lightly blew into it before taking a sip. The drink never failed to wake him up and Kuroko noted a hint of vanilla in it, the way Kagami always made him coffee.

Aomine too, but Kuroko chose not to linger over that.

“Thank you, Kagami-Kun” he said and immediately cleared his throat because of how hoarse it sounded “And thank you for carryingme inside, and for letting me sleep on your bed.”

“Don’t mention it” Kagami said “I made breakfast. Wanna go eat?”

Kuroko wasn’t really hungry, but he wouldn’t tell that to Kagami who was obviously worried about him. So he nodded and stood up, wincing because he had slept in his jeans.

“Before that, Kagami-kun, would it be okay if I took a shower?” He looked down at himself, hating how unkempt he looked.

“Yeah sure, I’ll put your clothes in the washer and lay out one of the spare ones you have here.” Kuroko was thankful he always left clothes at Kagami’s apartment for when they’d play basketball and Kuroko (usually Aomine too) would be too tired to walk home.

“That would be appreciated, Kagami-kun” he said, bowing before heading to the bathroom. He closed the door, turned the shower on, and as soon as he looked at himself in the mirror he winced. His eyes were red and tired and he had tear stains on his cheeks. He looked terrible; it was no wonder Kagami had been worried.

He sighed and took his clothes off, folding them neatly before stepping into the steamy shower. As soon as the hot water touched his skin, he felt his muscles relax. He sighed, leaning his forehead against the wall as he let the water cascade over his body for a few seconds.

_Don’t think about it_ he told himself, pushing himself away from the wall and proceeding to grab the soap. He didn’t let himself dwell on anything, he just focused on finishing his shower and when he got out he felt relaxed, controlled. Being able to control his emotions and expressions was always something he prided himself in.

He saw the clothes and towel Kagami must’ve laid out for him and wasted no time in getting dressed. He walked out of the bathroom while drying his hair with a towel and walked into the kitchen, passing the couch and glancing at the pile of blankets strewn on it. He felt a twinge of guilt knowing Kagami had given him his bed and slept on the couch.

He walked into the kitchen and was greeted by Kagami who ushered him onto a chair and gave him a plate of food. Kuroko thanked him and started eating. The silence lasted a few moments before Kagami’s phone started ringing. Kagami glanced at it, looked hesitant before silencing it. And Kuroko immediately knew who it was

“He knows I’m here?” he asked casually, knowing his voice was emotionless. Kagami hesitated but nodded

“He got worried when you didn’t go back home and didn’t answer your phone. So he called me and when I found you I told him.” Kagami said and then narrowed his eyes at Kuroko “You couldn’t have gotten up the stairs and rang the doorbell?”

“I was planning to” Kuroko stated “I got distracted” _crying and wallowing in self-pity_ Kuroko thought but didn’t voice it “I apologize for any worry I might’ve caused”

“Don’t do it again, dumbass” Kagami said and Kuroko nodded, knowing Kagami wasn’t angry, just concerned. “So what happened?” Kagami asked and Kuroko’s pause in eating was the only reaction evident on the bluenette. Kuroko swallowed the small bite he had taken, already feeling full before pushing away the plate in front of him and looking at Kagami with emotionless eyes.

“Aomine-Kun informed me yesterday that he had been unfaithful” He stated matter-of-factly “I saw it opportune to leave the apartment for a while” it sounded so simple when he said it. Like that moment hadn’t been devastating to him. But he didn’t see a reason to worry Kagami when he was controlled now.

“He cheated?” Kagami sounded shocked and then his eyes narrowed and his anger was evident “That bastard! How dare he?! I’m going to kill him”

Kuroko almost smiled at Kagami’s outrage for him. Almost. He shrugged, standing up with his plate in hand and walking towards the kitchen sink.

“There’s no need for that, Kagami-kun” Kuroko said as he emptied the rest of the food on his plate in the trash and then proceeded to wash the dish “Though I worried you yesterday, I am perfectly fine now”

“Don’t bullshit me” Kagami said as he walked towards him, taking the dish from his hand and placing it in the sink before grabbing Kuroko by the shoulders and turning him towards him. “We both know why you’re acting like this. You haven’t been this closed off in a long time.”

“Kagami-kun worries too much” Kuroko said as he brushed one of kagami’s hands off his shoulder. “I’m fine”

“Fine, I get it. You don’t wanna talk about it” Kagami said letting him go and running a hand through his hair. “That’s your right, I guess. But just know that you don’t have to bottle it all up. It’s okay to be hurt and emotional, Kuroko” He looked Kuroko straight in the eye and Kuroko could see that he was being sincere. “You can come to me whenever you feel like talking, or just venting. Okay?”

“I will keep that in mind, Kagami-Kun” Kuroko said as he moved away. He looked at Kagami hesitantly “Kagami-kun. Would it be alright if I stayed here for a few days? I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to the apartment so soon”

“Of course you can” Kagami answered immediately without even thinking about it. “You don’t even need to ask”

“I will not be a bother, I promise” Kuroko said and bowed faintly to him thankful he didn’t have to go back to the apartment.

“Don’t worry about it, idiot” Kagami said, flicking Kuroko’s forehead. Kuroko looked up to see Kagami smiling reassuringly at him. And kuroko smiled up at him.

 

Aomine waited as much as he could before he called Kagami. He had barely slept last night and waited until it was a time he knew both Kagami and kuroko would be up to call. Kagami answered on the first ring.

“You fucking bastard” Kagami said as soon as he picked up the phone. “How could you fucking do this to him?”

“How is he?” Aomine asked, ignoring Kagami’s angry exclamation. He’d deal with his anger as soon as he knew Tetsu was okay.

“I have no idea” Kagami sighed into the phone. “He was completely composed, no outbursts or anything of the kind. I mean he was never an expressive guy but it’s like we were back in high school.”

Aomine squeezed his eyes shut, cursing himself for the millionth time. “He’s out now, going to get Nigou from the vet.” Kagami continued “He’s staying with me for a while”

“I’m coming over.” Aomine said before he knew it. He realized that he needed to talk to Kuroko, needed to try and make things right. As much as he was ashamed, he still had to apologize face-to-face

“No you’re not” Kagami angrily said into the phone “You’re not gonna fucking see him, no way in hell you asshole”

“I need to talk to him Kagami” Aomine said, already standing up and grabbing his wallet and keys and shoving them in his pocket. His doorbell suddenly rang “I gotta go, I’ll see you later” he hung up and ran to the door, opening it only to be greeted by an angry Kise.

“you wake me up in the middle of the night, hang up on me and make me worry about Kurokocchi. And then you tell me to go to sleep without providing an explanation. Did you really expect me to just shrug and go back to bed? I called Kurokocchi but he didn’t answer and then even you didn’t answer stopped answering. I rescheduled my photo-shoot just to come today.” He ranted, striding into the room like he owned the place and turning to him angrily “You have some explaining to do”

“Kise, I don’t have time for this right now.” Aomine said turning towards the door intending to leave “I have to go”

“Oh no you don’t” Kise said, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him backwards, causing him to stumble. Kise strode towards the door and shut it “what happened? And why isn’t Kurokocchi here”

Aomine sighed, knowing there was no escaping Kise when he put his foot down. He looked up and knew he was about to lose the respect of a friend. “I-I cheated” he said “I cheated on Tetsu and he walked out. I called you because I freaked when he didn’t come back for hours and wasn’t answering his phone. But then Kagami found him on his staircase and took him in. That’s where I’m headed right now, so I’d appreciate it if—“his head was thrown back and he stumbled backwards as the punch Kise landed hit him square in the jaw.

His hand reached for his jaw and he moved his mouth a bit, wincing in pain and knowing he’d have a bruise there. “Kise, you bastard!” “How could you?” Kise seethed stance rigid, glaring daggers at Aomine. “How could you do that to Kurokocchi?”

“I fucked up, I know” you said angrily “I was pissed drunk and made a mistake that could ruin everything.” Aomine looked up at Kise and could see the conflict in his eyes. Kise adored Tetsu but he also admired Aomine. “I’m heading over now to talk to him”

“You’ve never messed up as bad as this” Kise said “I don’t know if Kurokocchi will forgive you, Aomine. A lot of people wouldn’t”

“You think I don’t fucking know that” Aomine said with a sigh trying to ignore how it stung that Kise hadn’t used the stupid nickname he had for him. They both knew the implication of that. He had to prove himself again to more than one person.

Kise stood there for a while before turning around and leaving, slamming the door behind him. Aomine stood there silently for a while, before reminding himself that he needed to get to Kuroko. So he got out of the apartment and went as fast as he could to Kagami’s house, hoping Tetsu would be back from the vet.

Kagami was the one who opened the door “So who punched you?” he immediately asked and Aomine touched the already forming bruise.

“Kise”

Kagami stared at him blankly not budging from his place on the door. Aomine sighed and shoved his way into the apartment “So Tetsu still isn’t here?” He asked turning around. But he didn’t even get to see Kagami before he was thrown backwards, landing on his ass as Kagami punched him.

“You’re a fucking asshole” Kagami said angrily, grabbing him and making him stand up “The only reason I’m not kicking your ass now is that Kuroko will be back any second. And I don’t want to add to his troubles” He let go of Aomine and the latter stumbled but managed to stay standing. Kagami’s punch had landed just above Kise’s and Aomine could already feel his face tingling and knew the bruise would show in no time.

Aomine’s hand itched to punch Kagami back but he didn’t, but he would if Kagami did it again. “Shit, I know I deserved that. But that fucking hurt” he said as he straightened up “but that’s you’re only free shot, Kagami. The rest’ll cost you” He stated as he stared at Kagami. Their heights weren’t very different, almost the same, and they had been in a glaring contest a million times before, so this wasn’t anything new.

“Get out”

“No”

“Get the fuck out”

“No”

“You fucked up”

“I know”

“You don’t deserve to see him”

“I know”

“You don’t deserve him”

“I know”

“So leave”

“I can’t”

Aomine glared at Kagami, feeling the tension escalate in the room. Their previous glaring contests felt like nothing compared to this. The previous ones were usually about something trivial, this was contained much more anger than before. Aomine knew he was wrong, he knew all of what Kagami had said was true. He didn’t deserve forgiveness, didn’t deserve Tetsu.

But he couldn’t let go

“Kagami-Kun I’m back” A soft voice filtered through the room. Aomine broke the stare and snapped his head in the direction of Tetsu’s voice. Tetsu was standing there, eyes barely widened, holding onto Nigou’s leash. The sight of Nigou and Tetsu never failed to spark up his amusement. Nigou had grown since high school and was so big he reached Tetsu’s waist easily. But Aomine couldn’t find it in him to feel amused now.

He had never felt so nervous in his life.

“Aomine-kun?”


	4. Self-Destruct

“Aomine-Kun” Kuroko breathed as he stared at Aomine. He honestly didn’t know what to expect, he should’ve known Aomine would come to Kagami’s. He had noticed the tension in the room as soon as he got in, which only seemed to become higher at his entrance.

“Tetsu” Aomine looked relieved as he stared at him and Kuroko ignored the faint guilt he felt for making him worry. Kuroko stared blankly at him, not giving away anything of the raging emotions he was feeling. Aomine looked at a loss of what to say.

“I…” Aomine started, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “Can we talk?” he turned and threw a glare at Kagami before turning back to him “Alone?”

Kuroko didn’t want to, he really didn’t. But it was better to get it out of the way. He nodded and walked further into the room, letting go of Nigou’s leash. The dog ran over to Aomine as soon as he was let go and nudged him with his head. Aomine smiled and pet the dog’s head, while Kagami started inching slowly to the back.

Kuroko only noticed the slight swelling of Aomine’s cheek when the latter winced as he smiled. So Aomine was punched, more than once by the looks of it. Kuroko sighed and gestured for Aomine to follow him. Aomine let go of Nigou and followed him into the kitchen where Kuroko immediately headed to the freezer and brought an ice pack, holding it out for Aomine.

“Thanks” Aomine said as he took the ice pack and applied it to his jaw. Kuroko wasn’t ashamed to admit that he felt a twinge of satisfaction at seeing him wince.

“Kagami-kun packs quite a punch” Kuroko stated blandly, watching as Aomine shifted awkwardly and hesitantly glanced at him. He was nervous, Kuroko noted.

“Yeah, Kise too” Aomine said and then straightened and stared at him “Tetsu…about yesterday. I…fuck…I’m sorry. I wish I could take back what I did—“

“You can’t”

“Yeah…I know. I…it won’t ever happen again, Tetsu just…” he sighed and looked at Kuroko, his face scrunched up into a frown, his eyes _pleading_ Kuroko. And suddenly Kuroko was angry. In all honesty he should’ve been angry long before but it’s like the anger was just simmering beneath the surface waiting to come out. And it hit him full force because Aomine had no right to be pleading him like this. He shouldn’t make him rethink his decision.

“You were unfaithful, Aomine-Kun” his voice was like ice and he refused to feel sorry for the way Aomine winced at the sound of it. “You slept with someone else”

“Tetsu I promise you that—“

“It won’t happen again?” Kuroko continued for him “You were drunk Aomine-Kun. You can’t make promises for the way you act when you’re drunk” Kuroko then asked the question that had been on his mind since this happened “Were you…unhappy?”

“What? No! Tetsu, of course not” Aomine said in panic, throwing the icepack at the table beside him and stepping closer to Kuroko “I never thought of cheating on you and I never wanted to.”

“But there has to be a reason, Aomine-kun” Kuroko stated “Not everyone who gets drunk cheats on their partner. So why did you?”

“I…” Aomine gaped at him, and it was obvious he didn’t have an answer. Kuroko sighed and his whole body sagged from his previous tense state.

“This…” the words got caught in his throat. He didn’t want to say them, he didn’t. “This is it, Aomine-kun” Would he fight for him? Try to make it up to him? Would he try to fix things? Kuroko prayed he would. Because Kuroko knew he couldn’t just forgive him and let this all be done with. He needed Aomine to be willing to work for a second chance, he needed him to not give up easily.

The words seemed to shock Aomine. “Tetsu” he breathed but remained silent, didn’t say anything as he sobered up and straightened his posture. Kuroko felt his heart sink; he knew that look, that posture, that Aomine. And he knew then that there was no trying to fix things for him. Kuroko’s heart broke all over again.

“Okay” Aomine said “fine” he turned around and without the least bit of hesitation walked out. Kuroko stood there frozen as he heard the slam of the front door. His chest filled with a familiar pain. He had hoped Aomine would try and fix things, would tell him he’ll get him back. He wanted him to; he wanted Aomine to prove he was dedicated to them, to what they had. Wanted Aomine to prove that he deserved a second chance

His chest tightened painfully and it was getting harder to breathe. “Hey” Kagami’s familiar voice broke him out of his trance and his head snapped up “You okay?”

“I…I’m not sure” Kuroko answered honestly still staring at the floor. “I apologize for the inconvenience, Kagami-kun.” He turned around and stared at his worried friend “You need not worry, I will be alright”

“Kuroko…” Kagami trailed on, obviously not believing him, so Kuroko offered him a small smile and a nod of his head. He couldn’t live in self-pity, he had to get over it, he had his own responsibilities.

_He had to be okay_

 

Aomine didn’t know where he was going when he left Kagami’s place. All he knew was that he didn’t want to go home, where Tetsu was everywhere. It was no surprise really, when he found himself in front of Satsuki’s apartment. Because she was the only person who stayed with him no matter how bad he fucked up. Because she was Satsuki, and she was his best friend and he had never needed her as much as he did in that moment, even if he won’t ever admit it to her.

So when he knocked on the door and Satsuki opened the door with an excited “Dai-chan” he felt like crying, but ended up just sauntering into the apartment and right into her kitchen like he always did.

“Yo Satsuki” he said, waving his hand casually as he walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to grab a beer. He opened it and took a long sip before turning towards her.

“Dai-chan! What are you doing here? You have work in two hours. And why is your face bruised?” Satsuki asked worriedly, she knew Aomine never skipped work unless he had to. Tetsu-kun’s influence no doubt.

“Don’t feel like going today. It’s a Sunday, work on Sunday is irrational. And the bruise is just from this punk I was arresting” Truthfully it had completely left Aomine’s mind that he had work today. He had had other things on his mind. He sat down on the couch, turned on the TV, and sat with his feet apart, back against the couch, hands playing with the beer label.

“Does Tetsu-kun know? He won’t be happy”

Aomine stiffened for just a moment, but he knew that Satsuki would notice, Satsuki always notices. “Not any of his business is it?” he tried to sound flippant about it, like he didn’t care “It’s over between us”

Surprisingly there wasn’t a gasp or any kind of reaction out of Satsuki. So he looked up and found her expression indiscernible. Would she react like Kise? Lose all respect for him. He knew she’d find out sooner or later. Everyone would know sooner or later and everyone would have the same reaction.

“What happened?”

He knew the question was coming, he had expected it. And why the hell had he come here again? Why did he come knowing they would get to this question. And no matter how ready he was for it, it still didn’t make it easier to answer.

He shrugged and took a long swig of his beer “Got pissed drunk and cheated on him” his voice sounded fairly emotionless. If it wasn’t for the circumstances, Aomine would’ve been proud of how perfect he had masked up what he was feeling.

This time there was a startled gasp and Aomine looked up and saw Satsuki staring at him in shock. He smiled bitterly, already knowing what was coming.

The slap he expected, along with the “How could you do that to Tetsu-kun?” and the anger rolling off her in waves. So he shrugged and answered with “Because I’m an ass, Satsuki” like it was the most known fact in the world, and it kind of was.

The hug was what he didn’t expect

And he stood frozen in shock, his cheek still stinging—and it hurt like a bitch because for some reason everyone was going for the same place when hitting him—Satsuki had her arms wrapped around him and Aomine honestly didn’t know what was happening and why. But Satsuki had never been predictable.

“You’re such a jerk, Dai-chan” she said as she pulled back and punched him in the chest. “You were happy” she looked up at him, her eyes glistening “You were so happy, why did you ruin that?”

For the first time since he stepped foot in her house, Aomine turned somber. And he looked at her with a resolute face and said “I don’t know”

But they both knew. Knew that Aomine was insecure as fuck, knew that he never felt like he deserved Tetsu.

Because yeah, Aomine was talented in many things

But his biggest talent, was self-destruct

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soo sorry for the long wait.  
> again this is unedited and english isn't my first language so excuse my mistakes.


	5. Forgive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko has to get get his things from the apartment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry it took so long to update. College busted my ass but now I am officially a college graduate and hopefully I'll be able to post more often.

There were no dramatic moments after that. Kuroko woke up, went to work, got back, had dinner, finished his work, and then went to sleep. It was his usual schedule but the difference was that Aomine had disappeared from it. He wouldn’t wake up with Aomine’s arms around him, wouldn’t look up from his work at night to see Aomine walking in with his usual “Yo, Tetsu!”

It was disheartening really, how much Kuroko was used to seeing Aomine on a daily basis, how a lot of the stuff he did on a daily basis were related to him. He stumbled on himself hesitating to buy something because _Aomine didn’t like that flavor,_ or passing by the shoe shop and suddenly thinking _Aomine was talking about needing new shoes._ But each time he would remember almost immediately and force himself out of it. He managed, staying with Kagami was helping as well, his best friend would always randomly invite him to play basketball in the nearby courts when he felt Kuroko was starting to think about everything.

He hadn’t seen Aomine since the night they broke up, not even a glimpse of him. He supposed that was to be expected but it still stung. And after three weeks without Aomine contacting him, Kuroko decided not to stop postponing the inevitable; he had to get his stuff from his old apartment, his clothes and everything was still there

Now Kuroko was not a coward, he didn’t want to avoid Aomine so he called him but Aomine either had his phone off or didn’t answer.

The day he was supposed to go and get his stuff,Kise showed up after his shift at the kindergarten. As usual he greeted him with his usual exclamation of ‘Kurokocchi’ and hugged him tightly.

“Kise-kun” Kuroko answered in his usual bland tone, he knew that Kise had punched Aomine when he had told him and he had wanted to see him. “could you let go?”

“I missed you, Kurokocchi” Kise said as he let him go, grinning at him excitedly. “Do you want to go to Maji and get a bite to eat?”

“Sorry, Kise-kun. I have to go get my stuff today” Kuroko said and watched as Kise’s smile faltered for a moment before it was back full force.

“I’ll go with you then, I can help you” he said and Kuroko’s first reaction was to refuse but for some reason he ended up nodding and ignoring Kise’s enthusiasm at his acceptance. The walk to the apartment was filled with Kise’s ramblings but he didn’t mind, he had grown used to it over the years. When they got to the apartment however, Kise began to talk less and less and grew somber.

They took the elevator to the apartment and as Kuroko went in and looked around, it felt like he had been gone for years. His eyes were immediately drawn to a dent in the wall that wasn’t there the last time he had been there. There were a lot of things that were like that, stray pizza boxes, beers, one or two shirts. Aomine was not a messy person in general, even in high school his room wasn’t a pigsty, but it was always a bit cluttered, just like their living room was now.

Kuroko walked over everything and headed to the room. Aomine wasn’t home even though by now his shift would be over, seems like he didn’t want to see Kuroko. Kuroko ignored the tight feeling in his chest at that. He had called Momoi to tell her that he would stop by, he wasn’t rude and he wanted Aomine to know he was going even if the man wouldn’t answer his texts or calls. He didn’t want Aomine to come home one day and see all of Kuroko’s things gone.

Kise followed after him silently

"I won't be long, just going to pack my clothes" Kuroko said as he walked into the bedroom, which was surprisingly tidy, the bed was made and the only thing a bit cluttered was the closet. Kuroko took out a bag and filled it with his clothes as fast as he could, ignoring the Aomine's stuff and just anxious to go before he caved in and did something stupid like smelling one of his shirts.

"Should I pack your books for you, kurokocchi?" Kise's voice sounded behind him and Kuroko turned around to see him peeking into the room with one of Kuroko's books in his hands. Kuroko debated it, he only wanted to take necessities. Anything that wasn't his, even if it was theirs, he didn't want to take. But Aomine didn't read and Kuroko couldn't imagine leaving his books behind so he nodded at Kise, handed him another bag to fir his books, and went back to packing away his clothes.

It was harder than he'd like to admit to leave the room. He had taken his clothes and even the toothbrush from the bathroom. He was done and he knew he had to leave, he felt heavy as he walked into the living room to find Kise holding the bag with his books and staring at the broken vase on the floor.

"I got you this when you first got this apartment" Kise said, he looked somber, his face much more serious than Kuroko was used to "I never imagined..." he looked so conflicted and Kuroko knew what Kise was thinking.

"You can forgive him, Kise-kun"

Kise whirled around so fast Kuroko thought he'd trip "What?!" he exclaimed "Kurokocchi! No, I'd...he...How could I? After what he did to you?"

"Exactly" Kuroko stated walking closer to Kise "He did that to _me_. And he has faced the consequences." Kuroko stated "I do not hate Aomine-kun, Kise-kun. Yes, what he did was wrong and yes it hurt me. But I do not wish for him to lose his friends, I do not want you to push him away for my sake"

"But...Kurokocchi-"

"I won't fault you for continuing to be his friend, Kise-kun" Kuroko allowed a small smile to show on his face "On the contrary, I would hate to think I caused your friendship to end"

Kise stared at Kuroko long and hard, until finally his expression broke. His lower lip trembled and he pulled Kuroko into a hug "Kurokocchi" his voice wavered "you are amazing, you deserve so much" Kuroko remained silent and after a while Kise pulled back, his eyes a bit watery. He picked up the bag he had dropped in hi haste to hug Kuroko and took Kuroko's bag from him. "Are you ready to go?" he asked

Kuroko looked around the apartment that had once been his home, the place he shared with the man he loved. He felt the heaviness in his chest again, the one he always seemed to feel nowadays and nodded. "let's go, Kise-kun"

 

Later that night, Aomine would stumble home from work, tired from the extra hours he's been taking. Exhausted and numb. He wouldn't notice the bookshelf empty. He would do his usual routine of having dinner (who knew he'd get so tired of take-out but the idea of going into the kitchen to cook was enough to make him order take-out everytime), drink a beer and then take a shower and brush his teeth. He wouldn't notice the missing toothbrush. He would go into his room and open the closet to get some pj bottoms to sleep in and he would freeze. Because he would notice the empty space in the closet, the articles of clothing that were missing.

He would run into the living room and finally notice the missing books on the shelf and remember that there was only one toothbrush.  He would realize that Kuroko was truly not coming back.

He would sit on the couch that has been his bed ever since Kuroko left cause he couldn't sleep in their bed without him.

He would bow his head

And he would finally let himself cry.


End file.
